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Artannon (NH)
Artannon arr-TAHN-on is an Outsider known as The Lord of All Monsters. Physical Appearance Artannon is an Outsider, an extra-planar being that does not "exist" in the traditional sense. While common mortals exist in only a single place at once, Artannon exists in a great number of places simultaneously, each a manifestation of his will into the corporeal plane. As his title might imply, Artannon prefers bestial or monstrous forms, either mimicing extant creatures, or fashioning entirely new creatures from the depths of his own mind. Perhaps most often, Artannon takes the form of a great silver stag with black antlers. Origins Lost to time, but lives within The Hunting Ground Dogma - Only the Strong Thrive. - Honor both hunter, and quarry. - Defeat does not make one weak; the weak are those who fail to try. - Respect must be earned. Do not bend your knee to those who have not earned it. - Do not shackle or coddle the weak. It is better to put them down, than to torment them with knowledge of their own weakness. History The Endless Hunt of Artannon is interrupted by the advent of Creation. As Artannon struggles to comprehend the existence of things beyond his realm, The Hunting Ground is assaulted by Draksa, another extraplanar entity alerted by Creation. The two skirmish briefly before deducing the respective intelligence of their opponent, at which point they stop and negotiate. As an apology for his unprovoked assault, Draksa provides Artannon the means to enter creation, and then leaves. Artannon begins to explore creation, but finds it dull, and empty. Of more concern is the limited amount of his Will that he can exert into the plane, unlike the Hunting Ground, where his Will is near omnipresent. Eventually, Artannon establishes his limits, and enters creation more fully. He experiments with imparting some small portion of his Will into others, and creates the proto-centurion Karmug. Though the creature immediately flees, his passing causes dramatic upheaval throughout creation, and Artannon, realizes his success. Emboldened, he names himself steward of the great hunting ground beyond, and begins to flood the world with Dormant Myr and Dross to sustain them. Artannon continues to explore, adapt, and spawn Myr throught Creation, when he encounters the god Malthos feasting off Domphin inside River Falls City. Until now, Artannon had largely disregarded the native creations of the world, treating them akin to Dross, but the sight of Regulas rallying a squadron of his kin against Malthos resonates with Artannon, and Artannon realizes that the sentient races of this world are just another breed of Myr. To Artannon, this means that Malthos is now poaching his Myr, and Artannon wastes no time in driving the death god away. In the process, Artannon belatedly discovers the Psionic ability of the Domphin, concluding that some sentient creatures may be more than Myr -- they may be hunters! Notes Artannon is an extraplanar entity that is unable to fully enter the prime material plane. While he is able to manifest a body of sorts, his powers are rather limited beyond the scope of his own demesnes, forcing him to create exarchs to assert his influence. He seeks to empower mortals through conflict -- either they will find the strength to defend themselves, and thus prove worthy of their continued existence, or they will be decimated when the great beasts of Artannon's hunt overrun their walls. Artannon believes in the strength and the purity of battle. To him, there is little less thrilling than two beings engaging in a raw contest of might and will, to fight... or die. Artannon posesses a cold and curious intellect towards everything else; it is his view that might makes right, and since very few beings have the capacity to challenge Artannon's Will, he tends to regard the world as his and his alone. Hunter, Myr, and Dross To Artannon, there are only three kinds of creatures in the world. Hunter, Myr, and Dross; The Strong, The Worthy, and the Weak. Artannon interacts with the world through his "Myr", a very broad classification of living organism, as there is often little in common between these creatures. Likweise, Dross is another categorization of creature (albeit much larger), referring to the various small animals that are so common throughout creation. While Gods (or other Outsiders) would all qualify as Hunters, among the mortal races, Hunter is an exclusive term, given only to those with the strength to hunt Myr, and succeed. Beyond the physical constructs created by Artannon, Hunter, Myr and Dross are also concepts - to be Myr is to be worthy prey, to be clever, or strong, or perceptive enough to rise above the Dross -- weak, unintelligent creatures fit only to breed and be eaten. It is only through action that one can prove if they are Hunter, Myr, or Dross. Any sentient race is likely to be composed of all three, as mortal individuals vary much more than the great spawn (Myr) or animals (Dross) they share Creation with. Aspects, Manifestations, Dormancy, and Rampancy Artannon interacts with the material world through a number of individual bodies known as Manifestations. At any given moment, the entity of Artannon includes hundreds of disparate bodies (Myr), scattered throughout The Hunting Ground and the planes beyond. Manifestations are formed by Artannon's Will, and can be created or destroyed at will within the bounds of The Hunting Ground. Once spawned, Manifestations require frequent consumption of energy to maintain their corporeality, which often come from hunting other Manifestations. Artannon has a basic sense of where his Manifestations are at any given time, and a general sense of what they're doing, but does not have direct access to their senses, nor fine control over their body. When Artannon concentrates on achieving one or both of these things, an Aspect is created from an existing Manifestation. Aspects are more concentrated extensions of Artannon's Will, a shift usually denoted by golden glowing eyes. Unlike Manifestations, Aspects require no corporeal sustenance, and can exist indefinitely, without effort, or otherwise as long as Artannon wills them to be. Should he desire it, Artannon can dissolve an Aspect, reducing it back down to a regular Manifestation. Artannon's concentration, while vast, is finite, and Aspects require a much greater than effort to maintain, equal to several dozen Manifestations. The effort to maintain them is even greater on the Material plane, so much so, that Artannon is unlikely to ever move or create more than a single Aspect outside The Hunting Ground. Dormant and Feral Myr are created when Artannon loses control of a Manifestation. The body, though formed from nothing, does not return to nothing when Artannon's influence is removed, instead it begins to behave as an entirely separate entity. When this loss of control is an intentional removal, it creates a Dormant Myr, which behaves "normally" for that Myr. (Predators hunt, herbivores graze, breeding and matings occurs, etc). When this loss of control is unplanned, or involuntary, a Feral Myr may be created instead. These creatures are raving mad, dangers to both themselves and anything that might cross their path. Artannon makes an effort to hunt down and eradicate any Feral Myr that suffers from this "Rampancy". As their name might suggest, Dormant Myr can be reclaimed by Artannon when needed, though he must make physical contact with, or at least have visual sight of, the target for such reclaiment. Reacquiring a Dormant Myr creats a Manifestation, as described above. Artannon accepts the necessity of Dormant Myr, as he cannot possibly maintain every aspect in the entirety of the vastness that is Creation, but he holds The Hunting Ground, to a higher standard, and any Dormant or Feral Myr that is accidentally created, or wanders into, The Hunting Ground is quickly stalked, cornered, and eliminated. Category:Gods Category: Gods (NH)